One in eight mothers are smokers

25th May 2012

New NHS data has revealed that one in eight women are smokers at the time they give birth.

The figures also reveal that the north-east of England has highest proportion of mothers who smoked, while London has the lowest rates in the UK. In the north-east, 20.6% of new mothers were smokers, compared to 6% in London. Of the 87,700 women who had a baby in 2011-12, 13% said they were smokers, a fall on the figures of 15% in 2006-07.